Sunday, July 31, 2011

If you are a parent, you have most likely smiled more than once while thinking about how your child
views the world. Whether it’s looking up at a cloud and seeing an
elephant, laughing because they hear Santa Claus on the roof, or crying
because they see a monster under the bed, kids definitely live in a
different world than adults.
And, who’s to say they are wrong? There are many days when I want to
regress to that world, and to live that life of innocence and simplicity
again. It’s a world where nothing is right or wrong, it just is. Up
until now, I’ve always thought it is the vivid imagination of children
that allows them to perceive things differently, but it turns out, there
is more to it than that.
According to a study on New Science by Dr. Jim Stone at the University
of Sheffield, UK, children really do see things differently. Apparently
children do not see objects in a fully grown-up way until they are
about 13 years old. There are many things that are learned about how we interpret what we see visually. You can read more about this study on New Scientist.Jeff Wysaski knows all about how kids view things differently than adults. His adult vs. kid comparisons on pleated-jeans really made me laugh. It’s amazing how seeing pictures like this can bring back so many memories. If you would like to see the whole collection, go to What We See vs. What Kids See. Suddenly I have the urge to go jump on the bed.

Apr 12, 2011

The Spinning Dancer is a popular optical illusion that even has its own wikipedia entry.
The illusion is the following:

The illusion was created by web designer Nobuyuki Kayahara and the
question is "Which direction is the dancer spinning?" That is, is the dancer is spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise?

"If the foot touching the ground is perceived to be the left
foot, the dancer appears to be spinning clockwise (if seen from above);
if it is taken to be the right foot, then she appears to be spinning
counterclockwise."

A nice graphic that illustrates how the dancer can be observed as
spinning in either direction is below. By simplying adding some lines to
the original image you you can give direction to the dancer. The left
image shows the dancer spinning clockwise, while the right image shows
the dancer spinning counter-clockwise.

A shark cage tour operator has found that great white sharks are attracted to music by Aussie band AC/DC.

Great white sharks are attracted to music from AC/DC. (Credit: Getty Images)

SHARKS ENTHUSIASTS HAVE USED fish guts to attract great
white sharks for years, but it seems the fearsome creatures may be
attracted to something more pleasing to their ears: music from
Australian rock band AC/DC.

Matt Waller, a tour operator in South Australia's Neptune Bay, has observed that when sharks hear the band's hits, especially Shook Me All Night Long and Back in Black, they are drawn to the source of the music.

Matt's
research was inspired by dive operators on Guadalupe Island, who
discovered playing music underwater for clients also caused changes in
shark behaviour. He and his company, Adventure Bay Charters, decided to
do some experimenting of their own.

Using underwater speakers
attached to diving cages, they pumped Australian rock hits through the
water. Most of Matt's tunes had no effect, but when the great whites
heard the AC/DC songs, they swam up and rubbed their faces against the source of the music. Headbanging attraction
Matt
acknowledges he is no expert on the minds of sharks and doesn't know
exactly why they find the '80s rock band's music so appealing.

"Sharks don't have ears, they don't have long hair, and they don't head bang past the cage doing the air guitar," he told Australian Geographic.

The
sharks are probably drawn to the low frequencies found in AC/DC's
music, and Matt wants to test out this theory. "Once we've got a range
of songs, we can electronically identify a common characteristic between
those songs," he says.

Led Zeppelin is next on Matt's playlist,
but his children are convinced that the sharks will be fans of the
White Stripes and Wolfmother.

Matt's findings could help
cage-diving operations become more environmentally sustainable by
reducing the amount of berley used on tours. He says Adventure Bay
Charters is currently the only company in the world that uses music, not
bait, to attract sharks, but predicts other operators will soon follow
his lead.

Rescue
workers inspect a Caribbean Airlines jet after it skidded off the
runway at Cheddi Jagan International airport outside Georgetown on July
30, 2011. — Reuters pic

GEORGETOWN, July 31 — A packed
Caribbean Airlines jet carrying 163 people crashed and broke in two
yesterday as it landed in Guyana at night, injuring dozens of passengers
but killing no one.

The Boeing 737-800 overshot the runway and burst through a perimeter
fence after arriving at Georgetown’s Cheddi Jagan airport just past
midnight from New York. The front of the plane snapped off and it
stopped meters from a jungle ravine.

No fire appears to have broken out on the jet.

“It’s an absolute miracle what happened here in Georgetown,” said
Caribbean Airlines chairman George Nicholas, who visited the crash site.

Passengers screamed when the plane lost control and many fled down
emergency inflatable slides when it finally came to a stop, a local
newspaper reported.

“It was terror,” a woman passenger whose husband opened the exit door
told the newspaper Kaieteur News. “I was praying to Jesus.”

Flight BW 523 was carrying 157 passengers and six crew. The Trinidad
and Tobago-based Caribbean Airlines said it did not know the cause of
the accident. Investigators from the United States and Guyana were sent
to retrieve the black box.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that 12 Canadians were on the flight, and one was slightly injured.

Trinidad and Tobago’s transport minister said four people were
hospitalised with serious injuries. One passenger suffered a broken leg,
an airline spokeswoman said, and others reported neck and back
injuries.

“We are very, very thankful and grateful that there are no deaths,” Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo said at the airport.

A photo published by local newspaper Stabroek News showed a Caribbean
Airlines plane with the half its fuselage broken off and resting in
thick undergrowth.

The summer months are a busy travel period in Guyana as many citizens
who live overseas return for vacations. The airport closed for several
hours after the crash but reopened by midday.

Boeing’s 737-800 model was introduced in 1996 and has previously
suffered eight serious crashes causing a total of 525 deaths, according
to the Flight Safety Foundation. — Reuters

Saturday, July 30, 2011

If you ever thought it might be fun to own an old style typewriter, you need to move fast. The last typewriter factory in the world has stopped making new ones, and they have only 500 left in stock.

The Godrej and Boyce factory in Mumbai India actually stopped making
them in 2009, and have been selling from inventory since then. Twenty
years ago they would sell 50,000 per year, but recently the number has
been more like 800.

While the typewriter is obviously a victim of computers and word
processors, I'm surprised they don't have more of an underground
following like vinyl turntables.

I have a bit of a soft spot for the clickity-clack of the manual
typewriter, having gone through my college days doing all my work on my
Dad's old 1950s Olympia manual (I guess that dates me too). I must admit
however that I haven't dusted it off in decades, so I guess its time
has come.

There are many more 'Why NOs' that we can list out!

So, what has MCA dog been doing for the Chinese?

An elk rescues a drowning marmot at Pocatello Zoo, Idaho. Keepers were
worried when they noticed Shooter, a four-year-old elk, turning his nose
up at his water. They looked on baffled as the moose tried to dip his
hooves in his drinking trough - before trying to dunk his entire head
in the water. But they were amazed when they saw 12-foot-tall Shooter
lift his head out of the water - clutching a tiny marmot - a large
ground squirrel - between his jaws. They looked on as Shooter gently
nudged the rodent with his hoof, to make sure it was alive - before
calmly watching it run off into the bushes.
(Source)

Friday, July 29, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: The Gerakan has called on the
government to release the six members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia
detainees if no offences have been committed by them.
Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn said on Monday, July 18
that if the six had indeed committed offences, then they should be
charged without delay.
“The continued detention and the uncertainty surrounding the whole
episode will undermine the image of the government in the eyes of the
world.
“The country upholds the Rule of Law and protection of fundamental
human rights where anyone detained must be informed of the grounds of
detention and shall be charged promptly if there are sufficient evidence
to charge the person,” he said.
Chang, who is also Gerakan human rights and law bureau chief, said by
keeping the people guessing without any satisfactory public explanation
does not augur well for Malaysia's record in human rights protection.
“Waging an ideological campaign without the use of force or violence
is not a heinous crime and shall not be treated as criminal. Thus a
public statement on the circumstances leading to the arrest and
detention of the six PSM detainees shall be made forthwith,” he said.

Today @ Malaysiakini:PSM 6 released after 28 days in detention
The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) 6 have been released today after they
were detained since July 2 for undefined charges during the Bersih 2.0
crackdown.

It
is understood that the six
PSM members - Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M Sarasvathy, M Sukumaran, A
Letchumanan and Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj - were released at 5.30pm at the Jinjang police
station, following public outrage and sustained protests over their
arbitrary detention.

Jeyakumar's vow to go on a hunger strike until the PSM 6 were released also put additional pressure on the police.

They were
initially detained on suspicion of planning to wage war against the
King but it was learnt that the
charge was changed several times, at one point accusing them of
being ringleaders of the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

In a two-paragraph statement. issued to the media, inspector-general of police
Ismail Omar confirmed the release of the six from detention under the
Emergency Ordinance and said, “Following
their release, further action will be determined by the
attorney-general's chambers.”

In his police report against Chan Lilian, Tony Yew alleged that Chan's
tweet contained seditious elements, which directly incited Christians
to go against the government for alleged persecution and as
a citizen who also professes the Christian faith, he was of the opinion
that the action of the individual behind this twitter ID had the ability
to threaten the security of the nation. This was followed by a blog post titled 'Don't push it', where
Yew lamented that he had seen Chan's tweet being retweeted and was
disappointed that there were people out there happy to spread the word. Yew had asked in his blog, "What
more if you work for a chief minister? Should we, the rest of us who
want to move forward just stand by on the side and hope that the best
prevail?"

I bet Tony Yew has not lodged a single police report against Ibrahim Ali who, as a Member of Parliament and an elected individual representing all Malaysians, had incited racial hatred many times!

As a concerned citizen of Malaysia, Tony should lodge a police report against Ibrahim and all the more so if
he professes the Christian faith.

DAP adviser says among other offences, MACC
officers should be investigated and charged with perjury based on fresh
leads gathered from the RCI report.

PETALING
JAYA: DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang yesterday urged police to re-open
investigations into the death of former political aide Teoh Beng Hock
based on four new “leads” that the recently released Royal Commission of
Inquiry (RCI) report revealed.
Lim, the Ipoh Timor MP, said police should be investigating Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers for perjury based on the
report’s finding that named most of the
MACC officers as “liars”.
“Apart from two brave and truthful souls from Selangor MACC – Azeem
Hafeez Jamaluddin and Azian Umar – the report virtually dismissed the
rest as a pack of liars led by (then Selangor MACC deputy director)
Hishamuddin Hashim, the “mastermind” of the massive and unjustified
operation which resulted in Teoh’s death,” he said.
(Azian and Azeem were lauded as brave in the report as their
testimony had supported the finding that MACC officers had been
instructed to lie by their superiors.)
Lim said the report’s “most scathing… indictment of the character and
testimony” of the officers is “fertile source for the formulation of
multiple perjury charges against Hishamuddin and other MACC officers in
giving false testimony at the RCI”. Under Section 193 of the Penal Code,
this provides for a maximum sentence of seven years jail and fine on
conviction.
Lim, speaking at the “Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission Inquiry Report –
Where is the promised truth?” forum last night, challenged
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail to arrest and charge Hishamuddin
based on the following paragraph in the report:
“The evidence adduced showed that the MACC officers were prepared to
go to great lengths to lie. One glaring example is that of Hishamuddin, a
very senior officer, who was overall in charge of
operations on that fateful 15th evening and spilling over into the early
hours of the morning of the16th. In testimony before us, he was adamant
in his stand that he had no knowledge whatsoever that complaints of
assault and use of force had been lodged against the officers under his
charge with the police. However, his lie was exposed with startling
clarity when DSP Kamaruddin Ismail from the Selangor police produced a
letter written by Hishamuddin himself in 2008 responding to police
inquiries in relation to the complaints of assault and related abuses of
power that had been lodged against MACC officers under his command.”
Lim said that based on this paragraph alone, a charge could be framed against Hishamuddin.‘A pack of liars
He added that the RCI could not have been more condemnatory of Mohd
Anuar Ismail, who was appointed investigating officer of the operation
by Hishamuddin.
Lim quoted another paragraph from the report, which said:“Anuar lied
about the role he played in order to cover up for HH. And on top of
these factors, he was a trusted senior officer of Hishamuddin who was
prepared to sacrifice himself for Hishamuddin…”
Calling MACC Selangor officers “a pack of liars” (apart from Azeem
and Azian), Lim said the RCI report findings meant that “they had lied
all the way from the initial police investigations into Teoh’s death to
the inquest and the RCI about what happened to Teoh on the fateful days
of July 15 and 16, 2009″.
“This means their earlier statements given were untrue, worthless and
must be rejected – justifying a re-opening of police investigations
into Teoh’s death,” said Lim.
He added that the “second lead” he had for the police was the
revelation of a new “fourth interrogation” that the RCI postulated had
happened to Teoh between 3.30am and 7am that day and which had
“propelled Teoh to commit suicide”.
“Police investigations into Teoh’s death never knew about this
‘fourth interrogation’… in fact, police should also investigate whether
there was a ‘fifth’ interrogation between 7am and 11 am,” Lim said.
He also said that the report had fingered Hishamuddin as the
“mastermind” in the “host of criminalities and breaches of the law in
the massive operation resulting in Teoh’s death”.
“Hishamuddin blatantly abused his powers when he launched the massive
33-officer operation which resulted in Teoh’s death ‘solely on a mere
belief and without supporting facts’ and based on a ‘mere’ telephone
call,” Lim said.‘Black blog’
He quoted another paragraph in the report, which read: “We found him
(Hishamuddin) to be arrogant, given to falsehoods, untruthful and
uncompromising in his stand. His falsehoods, particularly of his
non-active involvement in the entire operation at the material time,
were exposed from the contradictory statements he made before us…”
Lim said based on this third lead, the police should find out who gave Hishamuddin such a sense of immunity and impunity.
Meanwhile, he also urged the police to investigate a blog which surfaced after Teoh’s death, blaming DAP for his death.
Calling it the “black blog”, he said that the website was most probably the work of the people “responsible of killing him”.
Lim said the blog had the “finger prints of MACC” as it contained
documents related to Teoh investigations, which are only in the
possession of MACC.
“Police investigation into who was behind the ‘black blog’ would probably have found Teoh’s killers as well.”
Teoh, 30, was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth floor
corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned overnight
by MACC officers at their then-Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor.
Teoh was a witness in the MACC’s investigations into alleged misuse
of state funds by his former boss, Selangor executive councillor Ean
Yong Hian Wah. MACC had later cleared Ean Yong of any offences, citing
insufficient evidence.
An inquest was called but it returned an open verdict. Subsequently,
the RCI was formed, which recently released its report. The RCI had
unanimously found that Teoh was driven to suicide after
coming under aggressive and continuous questioning from MACC officers.
Three MACC officers in charge of interrogating Teoh – Hishamuddin,
Anuar, and Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus – are under investigation and have
been suspended. However, the MACC said yesterday that other officers
would not be penalised.

Based on the RCI report, we can conclude that lying is alive and well in the culture of MACC!

If PDRM takes no action, then condoning lies is alive and well in the culture of PDRM!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Morale of MACC staff not hit by officers’ suspension

July 28, 2011

PORT DICKSON, July 28 – MACC deputy commissioner (management
and professionalism) Datuk Zakaria Jaafar said the suspension of three
MACC officers from their duties in relation to the late Teoh Beng Hock
case, will not affect the morale of the other officers and staff of the
commission.
He said the MACC officers treated such matters as challenges.
“We train our officers to handle challenges, in fact they become more
resilient, disciplined and efficent in their work,” he told the media
after closing a basic training course for MACC officers here today.
He was commenting on the suspension of the three MACC officers and
the special task force set up to investigate allegations they carried
out aggressive questioning which drove the late Teoh to suicide.
A total of 57 MACC contract officers completed their training today
and would be made permanent staff if they achieve the required
perfomance and commitment after two years of service.
Teoh, 30, political secretary to a Selangor state executive
councillor, was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth floor corridor
of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at
the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office on the 14th floor
of the same building.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry into his death, in its report released
on July 21, determined that Teoh committed suicide after being put under
duress by three MACC officers who handled his interrogation.
The RCI recommended that action be taken against the three officers.
They have since been suspended pending further investigation.

The continued detention of the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leaders
is attracting unnecessary "worldwide attention", MIC president G
Palanivel said today, and expressed concern that the detention might
also impact BN in the coming general election.

Palanivel (right) said, "If
you (watch) (news) on the television daily, there are massive
demonstrations (in other countries and the) police will use tear gas,
water cannons and all others (to disperse the crowd). But
then, they will line them up, load them in trucks and take them to the
police station (where the protesters will be) kept for three or four
hours and then released.."

However,
in the case of Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar and the five others, who
are being held behind bars for being the key "movers" of the Bersih 2.0
rally on July 9, Palanivel said this was only creating a more damaging
image for the country and he added, saying, "The
elected representatives will stay there (in detention) and (during) a
general election, they don't have to leave (the cells to campaign) -
they can (continue) to stay in prison and win, for the people will vote
blindly."

Even before Home Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein declared Bersih 2.0 an illegal organisation, the PSM 6
have been held by police since June 30.

ANALYSISOne of the main
evidence used by the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to back its
controversial conclusion that DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock had
committed suicide was the psychiatric report submitted by psychiatrist
Paul Edward Mullen.

A close
look at the 11-page report submitted to the inquiry by Mullen - the
emeritus professor of forensic psychiatry from Monash University hired
by the Bar Council - found more factors pointing to Teoh not having
committed suicide than otherwise.

This, however, seemed to have been overlooked and ignored by the RCI.

In his suicide risk assessment, Mullen classified Teoh as being firmly in the "lowest-risk group" when he was taken into Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) custody and did not conclude that Teoh had committed suicide, describing the DAP
political aide as lacking all the factors usually shared among those
liable to killing themselves.

Mullen wrote that he found Teoh had a regular employment, a partner
whom he was soon to marry, had close family ties, a range of friends and
colleagues, had not suffered a recent bereavement, and had no known
financial problems - these
are all social factors decreasing the risk of suicide.

Moreover, Teoh was in early
adult life (25-40 years), had no history of suicide attempts or self
harm, did not gamble excessively, and had no family history of suicide - hence, making suicide less likely.

Mullen said Teoh showed no evidence for a lowered mood, let alone depression,
prior to being taken into custody, in fact, he appeared to have been
more elated than usual because of the prospect of marriage and
fatherhood.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Netizensare venting their
frustrations on the various conflicting statements and actions of the
government of late by posting the comment "diam lah", Malay for "shut up!", on the Facebook page of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Incidentally, PM's favourite music is Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Editors of print media were today unanimous in their opposition to a
government-led media consultative council, at the first meeting with the
government to discuss the matter.

According
to those who attended, the poorly-represented closed-door meeting
chaired by Information, Communication and Culture Ministry secretary
general Kamaruddin Siaraf (right), the editors were "about 100 percent" against government involvement in the council.

Notable absences in the one-hour meeting today were top editors of widely-read publications The Star, The Edge and Malay Mail.

Those who attended were representatives from The Sun, Bernama, the China Press group, Sin Chew group and the NSTP group, as well as the National Union of Journalists Malaysia media officials from the Prime Minister's Department.

There is a basketball court in Germany that is about to blow your mind.

We're not sure, outside of
displaying one's artistic integrity, why someone would choose to make a
3D-styled basketball court featuring lumps and lamps and all sorts of
weirdness, but we do appreciate the results. Because it gives us an
excuse to wonder what it would be like to play basketball on a court
like this:

Monday, July 25, 2011

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein - who is suing Anwar for defamation on statements Anwar made about the sex
tape allegedly depicting him, which the opposition leader has denied -
today sought to strike out certain
paragraphs of Anwar Ibrahim's defence in the sex video tape suit the
minister had filed.

Hishammuddin's application was relayed to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur by the minister's lawyer, Sunil Abraham while Lawyer J Leela appeared for Anwar, who has already filed his counter-claim and Justice VT Singham fixed Aug 26 for the case management to continue.

Hishammuddin, 50, in his suit claimed Anwar's words meant he was responsible for screening the video to a group of editors and journalists at Carcosa Seri Negara hotel on March 21. The words also meant that he arranged for the screening
of the video and plotted with the prime minister and the police top
brass to have it done.

You can now preview ZIP and RAR archives without downloading them. When
you receive one of these types of archives, you’ll be able to browse
through the files contained in the archive, preview supported files in
Google Docs, and download selected items. This feature is also available
on Google Docs for mobile.

A candlelight vigil to commemorate the death of DAP political aide Teoh
Beng Hock in Penang last night turned into a royal commission of inquiry
(RCI)-bashing session with Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi storming, “You have blood on your hands, Putrajaya.
Hell is waiting for you!”

Ooi added that he could continue
swearing but would prefer to fight this battle according to the law.

Held
at the speakers square at the Esplanade, the party's stalwarts spewed
much venom on the recently released RCI report which declared that Teoh,
under interrogation over allegations of corruption, had committed
suicide in 2009.

Ooi (left in photo)
went as far as saying that Teoh's “murderers” are still on the loose
and that party members have much anger to express over the matter but
chose to remain civilised about it and laid the
blame squarely on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration,
saying that it is during his tenure that several tragedies like Teoh's
death have occurred, referring to another death
at another Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) premises
involving customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamad, who was arrested as
part of a nationwide crackdown against errant customs officers allegedly
guilty of receiving bribes.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has dedicated
her honorary law doctorate to the late Baharuddin Ahmad and the six
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leaders now held under the Emergency
Ordinance.
The Bersih 2.0 chairman also dedicated the award, conferred by her
alma mater, the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, to the
“brave people of Malaysia” whom she said had overcome “fear of
intimidation and harassment” when they dared to march with her on July
9.

Ambiga advised graduating law students to use their knowledge to fight injustices. — File pic

“The
real heroes of that day are our friend and supporter Allahyarham
Baharuddin Ahmad who paid the ultimate price in fighting a noble cause,
the six members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia who, as we speak, sit
in solitary confinement under preventive detention laws and finally the
brave people of Malaysia who overcame their fear of intimidation and
harassment to uphold their fundamental rights.
“With all my heart, I dedicate this honour you have bestowed upon me
to them,” she said in her university acceptance speech received here
today.
She touched briefly on the events of July 9 but did not lash out at
the Najib administration, choosing instead to honour Bersih 2.0
supporters and advise graduating law students to use their knowledge to
fight injustices.
“You have already heard of the events of July 9 in Malaysia. Whilst
it brought out the worst in some, it brought out the best in others and
this is where our hope lies,” she said.
The former Bar Council president has been the target of much
criticism of late, with many anti-Bersih 2.0 parties calling for her
head over the chaos that took place on July 9.
Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been generously doling
out accusations against Ambiga and her Bersih 2.0 movement, claiming
the rally was an attempt to oust him from government.
Ambiga, however, highlighted in her speech that not all of Najib’s
men were happy with how the administration had clamped down on the
rally.
“There were some in government who opposed the methods used to shut
us down,” she said. “Even doctors left their comfort zones to speak up
against injustices. And of course there were the lawyers and the
independent media who stood on the side of truth and justice.”
Ambiga also spoke on the “rule of law”, saying that Malaysia’s
democracy was still being held back by repressive laws, turning it into a
country that practises “rule by law”.
She cited the example of preventive detention laws that “lock people
away without affording them the basic right to a trial”, likely
referring to the Emergency Ordinance and the Internal Security Act
(ISA).
Ambiga told graduating students that in their quest to uphold the
rule of law and pursuit of profit, they should also be reminded of their
role to fight injustices.
“You are now a proud member of an army of people that is equipped
with all that is necessary to both practise law and to fight injustice. I
urge you to use this arsenal of knowledge and your passion for justice
to fight for those who are downtrodden,” she said.
“Who better to remind those in power of their responsibilities to
their citizens than lawyers trained in understanding the difference
between ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘Rule by Law’?”
Ambiga pointed out that with the technological advancements in
today’s world, any injustice is quickly communicated across the globe
through social media tools and the Internet.
By using this, she said, individuals could stay connected and offer aid to one another easily.
“We can reach out to each other using these new means of
communication and we owe it to each other to stand together for what is
right,” she said.
The Bersih 2.0 rally has made a major splash among the Internet
community, with thousands of Malaysians sharing their experiences via
social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Thousands have also resorted to recording their disdain for the Najib
administration online, resulting in numerous Facebook fan pages being
set up to call for the prime minister and his Cabinet’s resignation.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

When the report of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the death
of Teoh Beng Hock was unveiled at a press conference yesterday by
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Mohd Nazri Aziz, who read out from a written statement and
said that the commission found Teoh's "weak character" as one of the
factors leading to his suicide.

Nazri said paragraphs 229 and 233 of the Malay version of the report as part of the paragraphs that led to the written statement

When translated from the Malay language to the English language, it states: "The outcome of
the commission's investigation found that Teoh was not murdered but he
felt pressured and stressed due to continuous and aggressive
interrogation sessions, strengthened by his weak character which caused
him to commit suicide."

Asked about the conflict between his statement and the RCI report, Nazri explained to Malaysiakini
that his officers who prepared the statement drew the inference from
various paragraphs in the report to come to the "weak character"
conclusion.

However, a check by Malaysiakini showed that the "weak character" remark is not mentioned in the 124-page RCI report.

This is how the gormless government drew the inference.

What if I drew an inference that the MACC officers had the evil intention to break Teoh down to the point that he would be in a suicidal state of mind?

Monroe or Einstein: Check If You Need Glasses at Your Computer

You
probably know whether or not you're near-sighted, but some people get
so used to seeing things a certain way that they ignore a vision
problem, squint a lot, and end up with unnecessary eye strain
at the computer. The double-image above cuts straight to the point: If
you see Albert Einstein while sitting a normal distance from your
computer, you're seeing things as you should. If you see Marilyn Monroe,
you should probably be wearing glasses or contacts.

Maziah displays a copy of her police report against Abdul Gani, in Petaling Jaya July 23, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

PETALING
JAYA, July 23 — Dissatisfied with the ongoing inquest into the death
Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed, the Customs officer’s family today again
demanded for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into his untimely
demise during a graft investigation.
The family previously asked for an RCI to be convened immediately,
but later relented to the inquest after Deputy Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department Datuk VK Liew said that it was the first choice,
and that there was a “procedure” which needed to be followed.
Today, Sarbaini’s widow Maziah Manap also asked for a fresh
investigation over a remark made by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) officer Abdul Ghani Ali about those responsible for her
husband’s death on April 6.

An open window is seen at the MACC office on Jalan Cochrane. — file pic

“Until
now the police did not record my statement regarding Encik Ghani’s
remark, ‘it wasn’t me, it was my people’, [made] to me when I expressed
dissatisfaction of my husband’s death,” she said in the report lodged at
the Kelana Jaya police station hear her house.
Abdul Ghani is a MACC investigating officer and the 18th witness to
be called in the ongoing inquest into Ahmad Sarbaini’s death.
He had defended his statement and told the coroner’s court that he
meant Ahmad Sarbaini had went to see his officers, not him personally,
on the day of his death.
Ahmad Sarbaini, the Selangor Customs assistant director, was found
dead on April 6 after he was believed to have fallen from the pantry on
the third floor of the MACC Kuala Lumpur office on Jalan Cochrane here
and landed on a badminton court on the first floor.The most recent
outcome from the inquest was a forensic investigator’s conclusion that
Ahmad Sarbaini did not jump to his death nor was he pushed from the KL
anti-graft office.
“I am very confident that my husband did not commit suicide but there
is foul play in his death based on RPK’s blog and Encik Ghani’s
statement,” Maziah stated in her report today.
“RPK” are the initials of Raja Petra Kamarudin, the blogger who
alleged on the Malaysia Today website that Ahmad Sarbaini accidentally
fell to his death after being forced onto the ledge by a senior MACC
investigator.
He further claimed that the MACC investigator convened a “conference”
with his colleagues to “brainstorm and concoct the most plausible
story” to protect their careers.Up till today, Raja Petra (left)
has written a nine-part series on Malaysia Today alleging that Ahmad
Sarbaini death was caused by the anti-graft body’s officers.
“I demand the police to investigate again my husband’s case because
Raja Petra’s articles are parallel with (what was said in the coroner’s
court),” she told reporters.Mokhtar Mansor, 53, cousin-in-law to Ahmad Sarbaini, and a former senior deputy public
prosecutor, told reporters that the family’s hopes were getting dimmer
especially since the findings of the Teoh Beng Hock RCI were made
public.
“RCI is much better because the officers will not be under the
purview or under the influence of the Attorney General, hopefully we
have that.
“At least for Teoh Beng Hock, to some extent, he was given that benefit,” he said.
When asked if the family would want to continue with the inquest, he
said they “still believe in the government, believe in the system”, so
they will go on with it.
Also present today was Ghazali Mohd Ramli, Maziah’s brother-in-law,
who is also the family lawyer, Awtar Singh’s firm partner, as well as
Ahmad Sarbaini’s siblings.

Najib
said he had informed the British prime minister that Bersih
demonstrators had intentionally provoked the police. — file photo

SEPANG,
July 22 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak confirmed today that he had briefed
his British counterpart David Cameron on the Bersih rally and its real
intentions during his official visit to the United Kingdom last week.
He shared the news upon arrival this morning at KL International Airport after a three-country working visit abroad.The prime minister was quoted by national news agency, Bernama,
as saying that he had told Cameron there is room for dissent in the
country to allow Malaysians to express any dissatisfaction that they may
have yet at the same time, it was imperative that public order is maintained.
He also shared with Cameron the fact that the government had offered a
stadium to Bersih which the electoral reform group had rejected because
their preferred venue was Stadium Merdeka, he continued.
Najib went on to say he had informed the British prime minister that the demonstrators had intentionally provoked the police.
Once the police acted against them, the demonstrators took photos and
posted them on YouTube, citing police brutality, Najib was quoted by
Bernama as saying.
Cameron was also briefed that Bersih’s real aim was not to press for
electoral reform as professed but rather to portray the Malaysian
government in an autocratic light in order to wrest power from an
elected entity.
The prime minister ended by saying that he had stressed the Malaysian
government always upholds the principles of democracy and has never
cheated in a general election because those held in Malaysia are free
from fraudulent practices.

Eleven days after inspiring
netizens with her heroic role in the Bersih 2.0 rally, Auntie Anne Ooi -
a retired teacher who has led a simple life and who has no knowledge of
social media, the intense attention has come as a culture shock - has
gone into hiding.

Ooi, 65, has been praised as the 'Malaysian Lady of Liberty' and held up as
an icon of the Bersih 2.0 cause for clean and fair elections, said she is stunned by the attention she has received on the Facebook page set up for her, which has gained more than 40,000 'likes' to date.

When met on Monday night, she said, "I'm so frightened by all this
'madness' in Facebook. I lead a life with no TV, no newspaper, no
nonsense. I read only good
books. (Now) I dare not go home. All this madness frightens me.
Everything is so unbelievable."

Ooi, who had been an English teacher for 35 years, said her daughter's
house "is now my shell" and said she dared not go out in public, except
to church and expressed her wish to be left alone and pleaded with the public to give her time to adjust to the situation.

On the sidelines of a seminar organised by the DAP, she told Malaysiakini, "Please give me time. I know I have courage... until I can handle Facebook, only until then..."